Latest in Viacom

Viacom is ready to expand the role of Channel 5 director of programs Ben Frow, giving him responsibility for Comedy Central, MTV, and Paramount Network in the UK.
Details of the promotion are still being thrashed out and Frow is yet to sign up for the increased remit. Viacom is also in talks with other employees who…

We’ve confirmed reports from this afternoon that Viacom is in the lead for a portion of the Miramax library, though no deal is done and talks are ongoing. This comes in the wake of Lionsgate withdrawing its bid to focus on growing its core business.
That said, Lionsgate’s current worldwide home entertainment rights…

Paramount CEO Jim Gianopulos kicked off the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Communications & Entertainment conference by asserting that the streaming wars are a boon to the studio.
The influx of competitors with Netflix — among them Apple, Disney, WarnerMedia and NBCUniversal — means “our content is more desirable, more…

Jacob Gralitzer is already looking at up to a decade behind bars if found guilty for the killing of Noah Benardout last month. Now the parents of the deceased pedestrian are taking the industry accountant, the producers of Lights Out with David Spade and Viacom to California court for wrongful death.
In an often-raw…

Viacom’s BET Networks and Tyler Perry Studios today announced a September 19 U.S. launch date for BET+, their joint venture and premier subscription video-on demand service.
Priced at $9.99 per month, BET+ will feature more than 1,000 hours of content, including exclusive new original programming, series, movies, and…

EXCLUSIVE: Viacom's Channel 5 is continuing to cook up new entertainment formats with top tier talent – signing MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace to host an adventure series.
The British commercial broadcaster has commissioned Weekend Breaks with Gregg Wallace (wt), a four-part series produced by Rumpus Media, which…

The integration process related to the merger of Viacom and CBS will be managed inside each organization by Viacom Chief Transformation Officer Jose Tolosa and CBS EVP, Strategic Planning and Development Gautam Ranji.
In addition, the companies are forming an Integration Management Office (IMO). News of the IMO, the…

MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central could be pulled from British pay-TV service Virgin Media as the deadline for carriage negotiations between Viacom and the Liberty Global-owned platform approaches.
The channels, as well as a number of Channel 5 spin-offs including 5Star, as well as VH1 and Paramount, could go black…

Viacom and CBS have jointly promoted Julia Phelps, a 14-year Viacom veteran, to EVP and Chief Communications and Corporate Marketing Officer of ViacomCBS.
She will continue to report to Bob Bakish, who will head the combined company when its $30 billion, all-stock merger is completed, likely by the end of the…

CBS hasn’t always had the best track record when it comes to diversity and inclusion but according to acting CEO Joe Ianniello, he is looking to change all that.
In a memo Ianniello sent out on Tuesday, the CBS chief gave some motivating words when it came to diversity and inclusion related to news, casting, TV…

The 2019 MTV VMAs kick off tonight, airing live on the East Coast from Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The show will air at 8 PM ET/PT across MTV’s sister Viacom networks including MTV2, VH1, BET, CMT, Comedy Central, Logo TV, Paramount Network and TV Land.
MTV.com and the MTV app will also host the show. Both…

The NFL and Pluto TV have reached a deal to launch the NFL Channel, a curated library offering, on the ad-supported streaming service.
Because Pluto is available free for consumers, much of the programming on its 150-plus networks approximates but does not duplicate what pay-TV subscribers get via the traditional…